Khatuna has been an Olympian since ’92 and has competed in the Olympic games ever since then so she is the embodiment of a true Olympian. Growing up in Georgia (the country) and training under the Soviet regime you could say her training was quite different from the training that most youth receive nowadays. This enormous dedication from an early age is one of the distinguishing factors in Kathuna’s story as an athlete. Besides unconventional training she also competed in her first Olympics while pregnant and through the years has returned to the Olympic games with new sets of challenges. If there is anyone who has seen it all and been through it all in the world of archery, it’s Khatuna.

During our conversation we discuss what the training experience for her was early on and how it affected the mental side of being an athlete. Next up we talked about focus in archery, the importance of it and what happens when the mind jumps into the process. Khatuna also shares her step-by-step method that she follows on every shot. Another part of our conversation we discuss the hardships she has been through and how she dealt with all types of stress in her career. Lastly, we discussed the influence of culture (or lack thereof) when it comes to the Olympics and Kathuna shares an interesting insight on what she thinks is a key difference between the U.S.A. and South Korea. As always I hope you enjoy this episode and take away something you can apply in your life. 

0:30       Introduction

3:14       Khatuna's First Experience With Archery

4:51       Early Emphasis on Physical Technique

5:40       How Dedication Played a Role

6:43       The Difference Between US and Soviet Training

8:41       Focus - The Importance & Unconventional Training

15:00    Khatuna's Thoughts on Aiming 

17:49    Physical Tension vs. Mental Relaxation

21:41    Divine Intervention?

25:00    Grit - Dealing With Adversity: Olympics, Pregnancy & Politics

28:27    Influence of Stress & Teamwork

32:00    Coping - Support From Your Environment

33:25    How The Archery Focus Bubble Held Up

35:42    Khatuna's Olympic Track Record

37:55    Goal Setting in Archery Competition

41:45    Khatuna's Long Term View

45:02    Mental Growth Over The Years

47:33    Current Mental Challenges for Khatuna

49:07    The 10 Steps of Khatuna Lorig's Archery

52:16    A Cultural Perspective on Mindset & Training

55:37    Why You Should Get Into Archery

58:41    Khatuna's Favorite Mental Practice

59:37    Practice Required

1:01:27 Khatuna's Focus Bubble 

Silke is a professional parkour athlete and has made her mark in the free run and parkour world by becoming one of the top performing females in the industry. From Red Bull’s – Art of Motion to appearances in shows like Ultimate Beastmaster and commercials, Silke already got it under her belt. As much as she is now able to make runs with confidence and enjoy the aspects of competition this wasn’t always the case for her. Starting out in gymnastics at a young age she did not like the pressures that can come with competing. Eventually she had a difficult conversation with her dad which sent her on a journey to eventually find parkour.

This episode discusses the difficulties that Silke experienced in gymnastics and that would later show up in her career as a parkour athlete but also how she overcame them. We got a short discussion of ways to increase your self-efficacy or confidence as an athlete. Silke also shares her thoughts and experiences in overcoming fear and her process to break jumps, progress in training and how to set up a training/practice environment that will help you get the most out of yourself. As always I hope you enjoy this episode and take away something you can apply in your life.

0:30 Introduction

2:32 A Crucial Conversation - Quiting Gymnastics

4:41 The Key to Getting Your Point Across

5:54 How Silke Got Introduced To Parkour

10:22 Social Comparison & How To Enjoy Competition

14:25 Overcoming Fear - Breaking Jumps

17:14 Learning How To Fall

19:02 The Process to Landing A Cart Wheel to A Full Twist

22:26 Helpful and Unhelpful Training Habits

25:38 Self Efficacy Theory - Beliefs About Competence

28:30 Silke's Experiences with Building Confidence  

32:18 A Bonus Tip From Silke

33:08 The Difficulty of Breaking Out of An Emotional State

34:47 The Benefits of Training in a Team - Ashigaru

36:10 The Lack of Female Athletes in Parkour

37:13 Silke's Thoughts on Why There Are Less Women in Parkour

38:16 Is Parkour or Sports Intimidating?

39:07 Setting The Bar To Entry

41:25 Our Tendency to Think About Negative Outcomes

42:34 How Silke Landed A Trick She Was Scared Of

44:47 How To Recover From A Near Accident  

47:00 Intuition and Trusting In Your Body

47:43 The Optimal Setting Skill Vs. Challenge

48:30 How Media Performances Impact Silke

50:54 The Illusion of Perfect Performances

53:48 Silke's Favorite Performance

56:58 Incorporating Education In Sport Sciences

59:26 Silke's Favorite Mental Tool

1:03:12 The Impact of Letting Go of Expectations

1:06:29 Silke's Closing Message

1:07:21 Where to Find Silke

Before going to college on both an academic and athletic scholarship Joshua Rhodes had somewhat of an unconventional upbringing. His father was getting into the MLB but decided to drop out to support him and his mother. When he finally moved in with his dad at 14 his life became heavily routine-based. This lifestyle has stuck with him to this day into the business world and his podcast on wealth education Rhodes To Wealth.

In this episode we really dive into family affairs, social influence and other factors that influence you as a college athlete. Along with discussing some of these stressful situations we also have a look at all the different resources available to you and how to find the people who can support you on your mission. We ended the episode in a Q&A-type section specifically what makes a routine good or bad? And what are some important factors of Flow or “Getting Into The Zone”. And as always, I hope you enjoy the show!

0:30 Introduction

3:44 The Sacrifice Josh's Father Made

7:23 Dealing With Strict Routines as a Teenager

10:39 Choice of Career Path or Lack Thereof

13:17 Family Sport vs. Personal Choice

14:18 What Joshua Taps Into When Going on a Grind

15:22 The West Point Appeal

16:37 Providing Support For His Step-Mother

20:16 On "Borrowing" Strength From Others

22:56 Moving Beyond Mental Toughness & David Goggins

23:44 Pushing Limits - Spa Day Edition

24:30 Awareness - The Big Unknown

27:03 A Note of Caution on Pushing Your Limits

29:21 Possible Downsides of Extreme Achievement

31:17 Joshua On Making The Big Decision

33:34 Dealing With The Pressures of The College Environment

35:51 Inventory of Your Mental Toolbox & Being Honest

37:31 Resources Available As A College Student

39:56 Finding People & Resources To Support Your Journey

42:02 My Story With The Kinesiology Department

43:39 The Q&A - Are Routines Good or Bad? - Joshua's Experience

47:11 Baumeister - Theory of Willpower

48:58 The Key To A Healthy Mind - Adaptability

51:29 Testing & Improving Your Mental Flexibility

53:27 Joshua's Routine - Deconstructive Habits

55:26 Throwing Up - The Functional Part

57:16 Better Ways of Dealing With Stress - Progressive Relaxation

59:06 Mental Tool - Progressive Relaxation Breakdown

1:01:56 Q&A - Flow & (Not) Getting In The Zone

1:06:00 2 Factor Quadrant of Flow by Csikszentmihalyi

1:07:21 Internal Environment - Reinforcing Cycles

1:08:49 Directing Your Focus

1:11:32 Chocking Under Pressure - How (Not) To Get In Flow

1:13:21 Joshua's Favorite Mental Practices

1:15:37 Where To Find Joshua